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Overview

Early Life

Miracles

Life Devoted to the Church

Why Januarius was Canonized

Relics

St Januarius Of Naples

Other Names:

Gennaro of Naples

Country:

Italy

Date of Birth:

c. 3rd century

Date of Death:

c. 305 AD

Feast Day:

Western Christianity: September 19; Eastern Christianity: April 21

He was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy, during the Diocletian persecutions

Saint Januarius is the patron saint of Naples

He is famous for the yearly liquefaction of his blood sample, which is kept sealed in a glass container

There is little account of the life of Saint Januarius but he is said to have been born in Benevento, Italy. He was a member of a wealthy patrician family whose ancestry could be traced back to the Samnite tribe of the Caudini. The martyr-saint became a Bishop and a well-known member of the Neapolitan church.

The earliest mention of his name was in a letter by Uranius, Bishop of Nola in 432 upon the death of Saint Paulinus, his mentor. He stated in the letter that Saint Paulinus of Nola saw the ghost of Saint Januarius together with Saint Martin 3 days before he died.

One miracle attributed to Saint Januarius happened during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. When the volcano was threatening to erupt, the relics of Saint Januarius were brought there by procession. Miraculously, while the people were on their way to the volcano, Mount Vesuvius became still and calm. Because of this miracle of Saint Januarius, the city was preserved from an explosion that could have claimed the lives of thousands.

Saint Januarius became a priest in his hometown when he was 15, and the Bishop of Naples when he was 20. He was a friend of Saint Sossius, a Deacon of the Roman naval base in the Bay of Naples and Juliana of Nicomedia, the patron saint of sickness – both also became Christian martyrs during the Diocletian persecutions.

Saint Januarius was already the Bishop of Naples when Emperor Diocletian started persecuting Christians. He helped his fellow Christians hide, but was caught and arrested while visiting Saint Sossius and other imprisoned deacons in jail. Together with his friends and colleagues, Saint Januarius was martyred and sentenced to death, thrown to wild bears. There are a few versions of the events that followed. One story says that officials, afraid this would cause a public disturbance, decided to behead him instead. Another story tells that the wild bears did not want to eat Saint Januarius, and that this was the real reason his death sentence was altered.

Today, although there are more than 50 patron saints of Naples, Saint Januarius has become the city's principal patron saint.

Saint Januarius became a saint before the Church was formally established, pre-congregation. Since there is not enough of a historical account on Saint Januarius, it was proposed by the second Vatican Council, a group of bishops who convene to settle matters of Church practice and doctrine, that Saint Januarius be removed from the liturgical calendar. However because of insistent public demand he was retained and people continued to venerate him.

Three times a year, thousands of people gather in the Cathedral of Naples to see the dried blood of Saint Januarius turn liquid – on September 19 to celebrate his martyrdom, on December 16 to celebrate his patronage of the city and of the archdiocese of Naples, and on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May for the reunification of his relics. Legend says that a woman named Eusebia, a Christian saint or one of the wives of the Roman emperor Constantius (sources conflict), took the blood just after Saint Januarius passed on.

Aside from the blood relic in Naples, Saint Januarius’ relics were transferred to the Neapolitan catacombs on the order of Saint Severus, Bishop of Naples. His body was then transported to Beneventum, though his head remained in Naples. His body was moved again to the Abbey of Montevergine during Barbarossa’s time, but finally laid to rest in Naples once more in 1497 by the orders of Cardinal Carafa.

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